He said that BJP will contest 25 seats while Shiv Sena will contest 23 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. For the assembly elections scheduled later this year, Mr. Fadnavis said the seat sharing arrangement will be finalized post discussions with smaller parties that are part of the NDA alliance.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP president Amit Shah said Shiv Sena and Akali Dal are the oldest allies of BJP and Both the parties have supported it in difficult times.

He said coming together of BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra once again was the fulfilment of expectations of crores of Sena and BJP workers. Maharashtra chief minister Mr. Fadnavis said the 25-year old relation between the two parties has survived despite several ups and down simply because both the parties share the same ideology.

Calling the Mahaghatbandhan a farce, Mr. Fadnavis said it was essential that parties having national interest in mind come together. He said constraining issues related to Ram Temple in Ayodhya, loan waiver of farmers and the issues related to the upliftment of poor were discussed and adequate measures will be taken to address these issues.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said, Ram Temple has been the common thread for the alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena and this had brought the two parties together over two decades ago. He added that said Ram temple to be built at the earliest.